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Berger began as an assistant editor on the 1973 film Arnold, in which Star Trek: The Motion Picture actor Norman Stuart played the title role. The score for this film was composed by George Duning. Berger next edited George C. Scott's 1974 adventure film The Savage Is Loose, which marked Berger's first collaboration with fellow film editor Michael Kahn. Berger then worked as one of Kahn's assistant editors on the 1975 horror film The Devil's Rain, which starred William Shatner.

In 1981, the Paramount Pictures release First Monday in October marked Berger's first collaboration with assistant editor George C. Villaseñor. Berger later brought in Villaseñor to assist him in editing Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Star Trek V: The Final Frontier. Berger and Villaseñor also worked together on the 1987 drama Less Than Zero.

Berger co-edited the hit 1987 Paramount film Fatal Attraction, working with Michael Kahn for the first time since 1975. George Villaseñor was once again Berger's assistant editor on this film, as was Thomas R. Bryant, another one of Berger's assistant editors on Star Trek IV.

Both Berger and Kahn were nominated for an Academy Award in the Best Film Editing category for Fatal Attraction. They also received an "Eddie" nomination from American Cinema Editors (ACE, of which both were members) and won a BAFTA (British Academy Film and Television Arts) Award for their editing of Fatal Attraction.

After the success of Fatal Attraction, Berger reunited with Star Trek IV director Leonard Nimoy as editor on Nimoy's 1988 drama, The Good Mother. Berger, in turn, brought Villaseñor with him to once again serve as his assistant editor. Berger and Villaseñor's final collaboration was the 1991 Paramount thriller Dead Again, for which Matthew F. Leonetti served as Director of Photography. Villaseñor subsequently retired from the entertainment industry; he died in 2009.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home was the first of four times Berger edited a film directed by Leonard Nimoy. The second was the aforementioned The Good Mother, which was followed in 1990 by Nimoy's romantic comedy Funny About Love, released by Paramount Pictures. The cast of this film included Freda Foh Shen and Celeste Yarnall in small roles. Berger collaborated with Nimoy one more time on the 1994 comedy Holy Matrimony, which co-starred Jeffrey Nordling, Richard Riehle, and John Schuck.

Berger was the editor on Paramount's 1981 biographical feature Mommie Dearest starring Charles Napier. He later co-edited the 1983 film Staying Alive (the sequel to the 1977 hit Saturday Night Fever) and edited the 1988 comedy-drama Memories of Me. His assistant editor on these latter two films was John Haggar, who also worked with Berger on Star Trek IV and Star Trek V.

With George Villaseñor retiring, Berger was in need of a new assistant editor and brought in John Coniglio to serve as an apprentice editor for Internal Affairs, All I Want for Christmas, and Dead Again. Coniglio subsequently became Berger's assistant editor on Star Trek Generations and Star Trek: Insurrection and most of Berger's other films during the 1990s, including the aforementioned Holy Matrimony. Jonathan Cates was also an assistant editor on Holy Matrimony, and soon thereafter worked with Berger and Coniglio on Star Trek Generations.

Berger later edited the fantasy films Stay Tuned (1992) and Hocus Pocus (1993). Hocus Pocus featured Charles Rocket in the cast and marked the second film Berger edited on which Hiro Narita was director of photography after 1986's Fire with Fire. Later, Berger made an uncredited contribution to the 1996 science fiction film Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, which starred Matt Frewer, Kevin Conway, and Richard Fancy. Berger also edited the 1996 Walt Disney Pictures release Homeward Bound II: Lost in San Francisco for director David R. Ellis. John Coniglio assisted Berger on all of these films; Jonathan Cates assisted on Lawnmower Man 2.

With continued assistance from Coniglio and Cates, Berger edited the 1997 films Metro and Red Corner. The former starred Eddie Murphy, while the latter featured Tzi Ma in the cast. This was followed by Star Trek: Insurrection, which was Berger and Coniglio's final collaboration.

In 2000, Berger edited the film All Forgotten (aka Lover's Prayer), which starred Kirsten Dunst. Berger was then the main editor of the hit 2001 film Save the Last Dance, released by Paramount Pictures. His assistant editor on both of these films was Jeff Canavan, who previously worked for Berger on Star Trek: Insurrection and Lawnmower Man 2. Berger's association with both Canavan and Paramount continued when he edited the 2002 film Clockstoppers. This film was directed by Jonathan Frakes, the director of Star Trek: Insurrection.

Also in 2002, Berger co-edited the film Like Mike along with John Pace, the editor of William Shatner's Star Trek Memories. Berger then edited the 2004 family film Garfield and the 2006 Paramount drama Coach Carter. Berger's first assistant editor on Coach Carter was Ken Terry, who previously served that function on Star Trek: Insurrection.

Berger has since edited the thriller 88 Minutes, which featured Star Trek: First Contact actor Neal McDonough in a supporting role, and the hit family film Alvin and the Chipmunks, both released in 2007. Most recently, Berger edited his first television production in nearly 14 years, the TNT network movie Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story, which featured a cast that included Danny Goldring.